.
I am a 39 year
old woman who was busy running with the corporate world,
all stressed out & not eating right, and two weeks into the new
found
pleasure of cigar smoking ( of ALL things) when I came down with mild
flu-like symptoms on Aug. 1,00. That night I went to a Santana
Concert &
couldn't seem to catch my breath & my legs ached. I laughed
it off but the
following morning I felt worse. I went to my local ER, passed
out, & woke up
from an induced coma 10 days later 50 miles away at New England
Medical
Center in Boston. They said I caught pneumonia that immediately
went to
ARDS. They filled me with 14 kilos of fluid to keep the sepsis
from
spreading to my other organs. I wasn't getting any better 6 days
into the
coma & fluid built up around my heart. So they went in
through my neck & did
a heart catheterization & switched the antibiotics I was on &
added steriods.
Then I began to improve. Upon waking up I discovered that I had
lost the use
of my right hand, and the skin on my neck, underarms and feet was raw
and
peeling off. I also still have no feeling in some of my toes.
When I was
transferred to a nursing home a few weeks later, I noticed that my
hair was
falling out somewhat but again, I didn't think much of it; it's long
& very
thick. Then just last night I discovered a HUGE (I don't know
HOW I could
have missed it!) bald spot on the back on my head. I
wonder - are these
things from the strong meds I was on, or the stress or WHAT??
What else am I
going to find?? I feel like ARDS is like a tornado that hits you
& goes
through your body & either kills you or not, leaving you to deal
with the
aftermath in total bewilderment. I came home on 8/22/00, &
just got my voice
back last weekend. I'm still very weak and am in EMDR therapy
for the
nightmares I had while in a coma. I also graduated to outpatient
OT & PT.
All I can say is God bless all of you ARDS survivors - I truly feel
for you &
together we can make it.
Sincerely,
Denise Enokian
(edndeenluv@aol.com)
Denise & Husband
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